The present invention relates to a method and device for remotely controlling call conferencing on a telephone line.
Call conferencing now exists as a standard option for telephone users. At the present time, a user with the call conferencing option on his telephone line, otherwise known as the three party calling option, must initiate a conference from his telephone instrument. A conference call is initiated by calling a first telephone number, then tapping on the switch hook of the telephone until a second dial tone is heard. Then a second number is dialed. Then the switch hook is tapped once again. At this point a three way call exists between the telephone user and the two numbers which he dialed.
However, it would be useful for telephone users to be able to initiate a three party call from a telephone at which they are not present. For example, if the telephone subscriber is away from his home and at a public telephone, it would be helpful if he could arrange to have the public telephone and another phone connected via the conference facility installed on his home telephone. By doing this, the subscriber could avoid the need to put a large number of coins into the pay telephone for a long distance call. Rather, it would be his home telephone that would initiate the long distance call. Thereafter, the three party calling feature would be used to connect the home telephone to the pay telephone.
This use of the three party feature, made possible by remote programming, is a substitute, in many cases, for a telephone credit card or other payment means.